No Chains on Me…

I had an interesting thought as I continue to read those who speak from a pacifistic point of view, namely, the anabaptists. I don’t know much about them, but the values they hold and the ideas they spread are speak a lot about what I think in terms of pacifism, social justice and care, and community. I read some stuff at the Jesus Manifesto site (which never fails to be a source of insight and inspiration) this evening in talking about a new startup community dedicated to a core set of values:

• The way of Jesus is nonviolent at its core.
• Jesus calls communities to continue in the way of life he set for us.
• The way of Jesus is prophetic, creative, and dynamic.
• The Spirit of Jesus is stirring a creative, prophetic church that resists Empire wherever it is found.
• Repenting of our desire for power and control, our movement embraces the diverse groups of people that share in these convictions.

The one that stuck out (twice) in this list was the prophetic voice that is needed. For a long time, in fact to this day, I’ve been told that “the gifts of prophecy (oh, and tongues) died after the 1st century.” But I’ve really been unsure that I actually agree with that for a while now. What I find interesting about the note of prophecy that I wonder about is if it isn’t extremely applicable for today. The difference I would see is that we are not proclaiming prophecy of a new kind or new revelations given to us from God, but rather the prophecies that already exist. Should we not be about proclaiming the coming judgement? The coming of the new Kingdom with its Just Judge at the head? Shouldn’t we tremble and weep for those who don’t know about the coming destruction? People of God, prophecy like it has never been needed before! In an age when Christianity is quickly becoming the non-norm of our society (an excellent thing in my opinion), as we launch into a PostChristian era, it is time like never before to tell the world that life is short, that the end is near.

Be about prophecy my friends. Come soon, Lord Jesus.

Malachi 3:5

Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 13:11-15

And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’

Its been a long couple of weeks, battling out stuff changing at work, preparations for a new school year; all in all, its been good yet exhausting. Its been a bit of a struggle to keep regular time with the Lord, partly ’cause I’m working on some of the stuff from the last big post in trying to figure out how to truly desire God, rather than just desiring to desire Him. Still a struggle as always. But the time in Romans of late has been really good, albeit somewhat confusing and thought-shifting.

Been in seven and eight the past few days and tonight going over eight a second time. One of my favorite chapters out of Romans, second only to chapter seven, simply because of Paul’s honest look at the continual struggle with sin. A real encouragement to me in this, as strange as it may seem, is my growing hatred and desire to be rid of my sins. Sin is still a part of everyday life. Its so enticing, so much of the time. The devil has done a good job of honing his skill of deception over the millennia to continue to make sin look appealing. The Spirit is continuing to work on me and make it more and more visible to me. Not to be prideful in this, as still “when I desire to do good, evil is right there with me.” Which is really frustrating sometimes, because of how ugly it looks when one compares oneself to a Holy, Righteous and Just God. So while frustrating, its encouraging to realize I am becoming more aware of sin and hating it more. The encouragement from Romans seven lies in that we will always have this battle, but we are saved from the “wretched body of death” thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord.

The hard part comes when we hit eight again, where Paul speaks of those who are of the Spirit, and how we no longer walk in sin. What is confusing is how he just comes out of seven, saying we are still in mortal struggle against what we no we don’t want to do, and yet do. Wait, so if we are in the Spirit (I take to mean the traditional sense of being “saved”), we no longer sin? And if thats the case, I’m screwed. If right living is the indication of being “in the Spirit” then I fail at that every day.

But then Paul hits the glorious 18-25, where he speaks of all of creation, specifically mankind being under the blanket of decay and corruption. This sandwiches the first third of this chapter, which is about right living, with sections on the inescapability of our sinfulness and the corruption of all of creation. What is beautiful about this is that Paul speaks of the day that is coming, which we groan for inside of our sinful flesh, at which time we will be liberated, purified, made new. We are awaiting that time, hoping beyond hope, impatient for it, though patient we must be, for Paul tells us that even though times are hard now, there is no comparison between now and the indescribable then.

It is somehow very satisfying to know that even though we are not free from our sinful nature, that we will be freed. Why? Because its so hard to live sinfully, knowing it disappoints the God I love. Knowing that it hurts me and others. Knowing that it drives others away from knowing Christ. But knowing that, and knowing what is to come, I can see why the coming restoration and purification will be so much better in the face of all we go through while among broken humanity. And so I can be patient, even though I can hardly wait for the day of redemption, of freedom, of liberation from this body of death.

Thank you for this odd encouragement, Lord. It is much needed.

More later… its late now.

Had an interesting thought the other day; a thought thats been hanging out in the back of my mind for a long time now, playing darts or something… I think I’ve come to a realization as to why I’ve had such a hard time really desiring God and really enjoying my relationship with Him. And God knows its not because I haven’t tried to “make” myself enjoy it or simply spend more time with him. I think a part of it comes from what may seem an unusual source. And it is… drum roll… the Christian community itself. I have this problem, see. Its that I have no experiential reason to see why my faith is really that important, to know why a saving faith is good for this life, and not just the next. Sure I get excited thinking about the future of heaven, but if thats all I look for, what am I still doing here on earth? Moreover, in the state I’m in, I get more excited to be in heaven because everything will be perfect, not because I get to be in the presence of God. And so life and trying to live rightly can get kind of old, tiresome, discouraging, because I’m not doing it for a Savior I love wholeheartedly. I think, in a way, living in a “faith-based community” (whatever that really means) all the time is sort of immunizing me from the real thing. I get used to it, it becomes ordinary. And I hate that, especially because, when I think about it, our salvation is the most magnificent thing to have ever taken place.

Well okay. My ever-running mind takes a new direction. Perhaps its living among people who aren’t radically excited about their faith, ’cause there are a few people, when I spend time around, I get really excited about what we share in Jesus Christ. I suppose I shouldn’t be swayed by groups one way or the other, but I know that my enthusiasm and focus on Christ is enhanced or damaged by the types of Christians I spend time around. So in some of the nominally Christian arenas I find myself in, Christianity just seems like something we do ’cause we’re supposed to’. Or I get overloaded because I am forced to participate in “Christian character development” of some kind because its “good for the health of the body” or to “keeps Christ at the center.” The problem is, this takes a toll on my own personal relationship development with God. One, because I can blow it off, saying I’ve done it a thousand times a day already, and two, because I get tired of always feeling like I have to be involved in “the community of faith.” And all these terms are catch-phrases that I’m not even sure I understand what is meant by anymore. I’m even struggling now to know what I would tell someone if I tried to say, “This is what God has done in my life, how he’s changed me.” And its not like I’m looking for some grandiose tale of recovery from drug addiction or a criminal past. But, honestly, am I really being changed by God? In thought, yes, what about in deed? Perhaps its just too slow for me to recognize, or I’m not seeing what he is changing. I don’t know…

So I have this plan… not sure what will happen with it, but its an interesting idea. For 21 years, I’ve lived among Christian people, most of them really good people, many of them have really challenged me to grow (my parents, Dano, Scotty, Josh, Ryan, John, Dr. G., just to name a few), and without them, who knows where I’d be. But being among this kind of people for this long is possibly also immunizing me from what I know I want to be excited about. My longing is to long for Jesus.

So I think perhaps if I am to make it anywhere with this, I need to find somewhere where my faith becomes vital, not accepted. Somewhere where it is unnatural to believe in a God or want to live like His Son. Something that will cause me to realize that truly, Christ is all I need. Not that I plan on giving up all Christian community. But it would be nice not to be around so many people who think its a good thing to be a Christian, quite honestly. I think it would be refreshing, challenging, and heart-opening. I’m just tired of Christianity as a religion… of it being all around me all the time.

So…. Pray for the future, with eyes open towards the eternal.

“If I am going to hell, you should care that I’m going to hell.”

Sitting in church hoping people come to you is not good enough anymore. Has it ever been? If we honestly believe in, not telling people about the way to escape it is wishing them there…

“If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

- Charles Spurgeon

Found this article and think its sweet that this made national news.

Shane Clayborne and Jesus for President

Show Me The Money -

Mac was down for a few days while trying to clear out the frequent kernel panics. Quick reinstall of Leopard and we should be all good…. maybe

So thoughts on the brain tonight… Time is a funny thing. Lots of people are willing to pay large amounts of money for it. Others have a lot of it and are willing to trade it to the people who are willing to pay for it. The time spent earns the resources to spend the time not spent earning resources comfortably and enjoyably. Often times in excess.

There are those who have chosen to give much of that time-bought money to those who are not capable of earning enough to survive on or to those who are depending on others to provide resources for sustenance. I think this is an excellent thing; something I have tried to advocate here. But the next question, kinda following thoughts from the last longer post, is there a balance needed between how much time is spent spending time to earn money to spend on others and time spent spending that time on others? I brought up the idea that perhaps just giving money away is disconnecting ourselves from people, and while not useless in anyway, is not fully realizing what we are meant to be as Christians. Shane Clayborne points out that it becomes a “drop-off point”, where we can drop off resources and then leave, never having made contact with those in need. It keeps us feeling satisfied, having done our “Christian duty”, while never having had to get dirty doing it! Its brilliant!

The problem is, I haven’t seen much of Jesus or almost any of his early followers (namely in the Gospels and Acts, an amazing story of faith, works, and all the blood, sweat and tears that stuck the two together) spending time earning money, even for the sake of giving it away. I see them in the middle of communities, working with people, selling even what their

resources have allowed them to acquire to give that away too! They seemed overcome with the desire to be embedded in a community of people, where they were dependent on each other and God alone. And somehow, in doing that, money became unimportant, an lost its hold on them altogether.

We are told that the love of money is the root of evil. And whenever I hear that phrase, someone always says “love of money” must be the key, and that money itself must still be okay. And perhaps it is… But whenever that time-earned resource is turned into something else, be it entertainment, food, even

this laptop I am using now, and it removes our focus from God and the people around us, causing us to forget and fail to invest the ever-precious resource of time in them rather than pointless pursuits, perhaps money still has its teeth in us yet…

And I again wonder: Is it possible to live apart from this world? I sure as hell don’t make it look like it is. Christian atheism is hard to escape… Can I give up more time at work and the paychecks that time brings to invest it in my relationship with God and the people around me? How can I live in community and seek to provide for those around me through more than just money? What is the perfection we are to seek?

Two final things. Great satirical piece on the Jesus Manifesto site about emergents. I’m trying not to be this way, even though I have been, am and will be. A warning to us all, even the non-emergent types Humility and love is required of us all unequivocally. And yes, I spelled unequivocally right without spellchecker the first try.

And second, two excellent questions posed by a guy speaking as part the Conversational Evangelism conference from 2007, I believe. I managed to get a hold of a bunch of recordings of the sessions from somewhere, and I’m wishing I could find more of them, since I don’t have but about half of them. I’ll let you know if I find more. Anyways, the questions are:

Is it more important to follow what Christ taught, or to let the world know that you’re a Christian?

Is it more important to live by what the Bible says, or to show people that you have the Bible?

Much love to you all.

What if God was one of us – by Phoenix Ocean (left)

and

God Hates Sin – by danny.hammontree

(I recommend visiting the link to the second one and reading the caption and comments, as well as looking through the “You’re Gonna Burn in Hell” set. Very thought provoking)

…and so much yet left to do. Somewhat of a relaxing weekend, much of it spent playing with Ruby on Rails to figure out if it would be worth spending a lot of time converting some projects at work to run on it rather than the soup of PHP/AJAX/JavaScript I have going right now. Maybe…

Continued wrestling through another chapter of the Jesus Creed (currently chapter 7) moving over two chapters for now because they were absolutely incredible (see the blog posts dated from the 31st) and I really want to spend a long time on them. This book has been a real challenge for me, especially as I am facing a final year at Cedarville for two reasons:

1. I have to teach this book to a group of eight men next year and that in itself is going to be a huge challenge, mostly because I cannot teach this stuff if I am not willing and actively seeking to live by what I want to teach to them. I’m scared…
2. It is my last year in the shelter of Cedarville (thank God for that) and then I have to live out what I am learning through this time in a real, hurting, and needy world.

There is so much that is going to distract me from either of these goals and beyond that, its an almost insurmountable task as it is.

Much of what I am struggling with involves what I have spoken about in previous posts, dealing with how Christians are to live all aspects of our lives. I wonder what this means for one more year of school, but even more so how it plays out in the real world. A lot of decisions to make regarding how I should be living now and how I will be living in the future. I’m not terribly worried about it, just very conscious that things are changing and it is, very likely, beginning to require a new way of living as well. The rubber piece of the deal is always easy. Its easy to sit here, read, talk and think (although it is tough to work through a lot of these thoughts). But when all that meets the road, it requires more than that, and the transition is not easy. But the transition must start somewhere, and this summer seems as good a place as any.

But the Lord and time with Him has become very sweet during the past several weeks, something I have wanted to have back for some time now. I think that for me is very comforting during much of this upheaval in how and what I believe. Peace that passes much understanding comforts my mind and heart. All praise and glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for this blessing.

Sliding from that, it has been awesome, as I prepare to lead worship next year, to spend time in far more ancient worship traditions. It has really given me a means to worship for once. What has also been an incredible “happenstance” (hah! betcha didn’t think that word still existed!) is that at the same time I start digging into some liturgy, I end up attending (and loving!) an Anglican church here at home. It has allowed me to experience these old prayers, praises, and supplications as the come to life in the church, which has been amazing to see. Its definitely given me an amazing, more meaningful way to focus on and worship God, which in turn is helping me prepare to lead it as well. I’m excited, for the first time ever, to spend time worshiping! And that, my friends, is awesome. Next to work on, prayer life…

So thats a slice of me as we head into the week. I hope God blesses each of you somehow this week with Himself. Much love and peace to you.

So I’ll keep saying it until I become famous and get quoted in some book or something (not really)

Saying “You can live like the world and be a Christian” should be just as wrong as saying “You can live like a Christian and still not be saved.”

Thoughts?

relativism of law - by joão ramos

In amongst the non-postmodern circles, there is a favorite argument seemingly hailed as the ultimate argument against postmodern thinking. It is though it is the irrefutable line of reasoning that can always be pulled out to force “the opposition” to reckon with their own pointless logic. It is also only two words long:

Prove it.

What makes me laugh, almost every time I see this argument pop up, is the fact that postmodernists don’t like to reason from “proof.” To do so would go against the very thing postmodernism is speaking about. And so seemingly, at the very basis of the argument between the two parties, there is no grounds for communication or healthy dialog. This kinda hurts any further debate…

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I must pause here to say, it is soooo good to be eating real fruit again. Cedarville’s cafeteria is nice and all, but their fruit is usually pretty abysmal. I just bit into an actually ripe pear for once. One of the benefits of summer! Thank God for the goodness of fruit. Okay, sorry.

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The very idea of trying to prove something, especially in the philosophical or even theological world, seems a bit out of reach to me. Philosophically, how do you “prove” something as the modern or postmodern view of truth? How do you demonstrate absoluteness? You can certainly argue for or against it, but logic doesn’t seem to prove or disprove something, it only makes a case for it, an attempt to convince as it were. Plus, in my mind, logical arguments can usually be made about any side of any subject (lawyers are still in business, after all), and the arguer is going to be arguing, hopefully in a logical fashion, to prove his own side. Kallenburg puts it well (a quote I’ve used before:

“The phrase ‘compelled by logic’ has no more teeth than to say that, in point of fact, we happen to accept certain conclusions; it is to say that our social framework requires of us these constraints as the conditions for continued participation in the language-game.”

To delve into the spiritual, how do you prove the existence of God? The existence of heaven? The idea that Christ’s death actually saves us from sin? Can you do that? You can argue from Scripture, but how do you prove that it is breathed by God? In my mind you can’t. I’m not saying I don’t believe in all of those things, I’m just saying I have no way of “proving” any of them. All of these things seem to be claims made, not proofs to be had. I think thats why faith becomes a huge topic throughout the Bible. Any of these claims must be taken in faith. Its even hard for me to say that how I believe I see God acting in the world around me and in my life as proof of the truth of what I believe. The reason I say this, is there are plenty of ways to dismiss God’s workings in the world in as many ways as there are human beings. The religious diversity around us is testament to that. And so again, faith seems to be a huge part of how we continue in our faith. What’s fun is when you get arguments like: “So are things like gravity relative too then? Step off a cliff saying you don’t believe in gravity, and have fun falling and believing it to your death.” So nice…

In case you were wondering, in my mind, yes, science itself is subject to this relative point-of-view. Gravity can be defined however you like it. Try it, its kinda fun. The trick is, in order for you to make sense to the people around you, it must fit how they speak of gravity (going back to our favorite language-games discussion). And you’ll need someway to account for falling down whenever you trip (or walk off a cliff!), wither you call it gravity or no. We’ve had some of this discussion before. If you want more of my take on science… call our 800 number for comments and questions Monday-Friday 8am-5pm and a representative will be waiting to take your questions Couldn’t resist! No, just ask in the comments and perhaps another post will magically appear! Its too far afield to continue with now.

Back side.

Now along the same track, postmoderns are often criticized for having no truth. This would appear a shallow understanding of what postmodern philosophy speaks of when it talks about truth. I suppose what it really comes down to is how you choose to speak of truth. If you define truth as requiring the property of being absolute (which you’re then going to need some way of demonstrating), then yes, postmodernists have no truth… in that sense. But if you’re willing to let your desire for absolutes go (hard as that can be for some), you’ll find a far more freeing and friendlier point of view. Because I, as a more postmodern person, see truth as being relative to who we are and how we define it as we encounter life, there is a freedom, odd as it may sound, in realizing that perhaps, I don’t have to have my philosophical/theological ducks in a row according to some absolute, singular standard, as it were. Perhaps there is a wider web of beliefs, as Quine (and later Davidson) described it, within which we are called to wrestle (a thought I have used before, coming from N.T. Wright). A misunderstanding of this idea leads many to think that I’m saying “Oh, Buddhists, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses are all Christians too.” Though there is a far deeper discussion to be had there, I am not saying that. To fall within the “Christian category” as it were, there are tenants that seem to come along with the “title,” if that’s not putting it too flatly. The problem is for me (although, not really), what are those tenants and who defines them authoritatively? Scripture? Okay, but who choses which interpretation, among potentially limitless interpretations, is the right one? I really am sorry for going back here again, but Reformed people like to think they’ve got it all wrapped up. But not to stop there, Catholics have done much the same.

Side Step: This is an interesting turn I’ve taken of late: From what I’ve seen in looking at both Reformed and, I guess I’ll call it “non-Reformation” camps (I guess namely Roman Catholicism), BOTH sides now are pointing to a fairly deep traditional bases (different traditions to be sure), though certainly, the Roman Catholic people, especially, can take that contest by a huge margin (which is another interesting discussion). I find it ironic that reformed people are now leaning so heavily on theology which has been developed for a few hundred years, while screaming they are sola scriptura (“the Scriptures alone”). Okay, maybe it was developed through study of the Bible… but I think… just maybe… Catholic tradition came about much the same way? Is it possible they are concerned about the Scriptures as well? Not that I think its a bad thing to have or embrace tradition on either side. But don’t claim you’re free of traditions when its just a separate set of them (*ehemreformersehem*)… ’scuse me…

Two quotes to leave you with, one speaking to relativism, the other to the openness needed towards a wider variety interpretations of the Bible (interpretations which I think don’t have to all agree and can still be valid):

First one (relativism) was brought to my attention by a friend of mine. Its from the book Hail, Holy Queen by Scott Hahn.

“The ultimate truth about God cannot be dependent on anything other than God. We cannot define God in terms of something contingent, as in analogies with creation. God does not depend upon creation for His identity. So even His title of creator is something relative and not absolute. Though he is eternal and He is the creator, He is not the eternal creator. Creation is something that takes place in time, and God transcends time. So, though creation is something God does, it does not define Who He is. The same goes for redemption and sanctification. Though God is redeemer and sanctifier, these titles do not define His eternal identity, but rather certain of His works. The terms “creator,” “redeemer,” “lawgiver,” and “sanctifier” are all dependent upon the world – upon something that needs to be created, redeemed, ruled and sanctified…”

Very interesting take on who God is. Its hard to wrap my mind around some of that, but I think it is a more correct view of how we should view God.

The second is from a favorite author, whom I’ve mentioned and quoted oft in the past: N.T. Wright. This is from a speech entitled New Perspectives on Paul. Its long, but good (read the whole article if you can. Excellent view of how we should look at much of Scripture).

“What has happened, then? Like America looking for a new scapegoat after the collapse of the Cold War, and seizing on the Islamic world as the obvious target, many conservative writers, having discovered themselves in possession of the Pauline field after the liberals got tired of it, have looked around for new enemies. Here is something called the New Perspective; it seems to be denying some of the things we have normally taught; very well, let us demonize it, lump its proponents together, and nuke them from a great height. That has not made a pretty sight. Speaking as one of those who is regularly thus carpet-bombed, what I find frustrating is the refusal of the traditionalists to do three things: first, to differentiate the quite separate types of New Perspective; second, to engage in the actual exegetical debates upon which the whole thing turns, instead of simply repeating a Lutheran or similar line as though that settled matters; and third, to recognise that some of us at least are brothers in Christ who have come to the positions we hold not because of some liberal, modernist or relativist agenda but as a result of prayerful and humble study of the text which is and remains our sole authority. Of course, prayer and humility before the text do not guarantee exegetical success. We all remain deeply flawed at all levels. But that is precisely my point. If I am simul iustus et peccator, the church, not least the church as the scripture-reading community, must be ecclesia catholica semper reformanda. Like Calvin, we must claim the right to stand critically within a tradition. To deny either of these would be to take a large step towards precisely the kind of triumphalism against which the Reformers themselves would severely warn us. But if we are siblings in Christ there are, I think, appropriate ways of addressing one another and of speaking about one another, and I regret that these have not always characterized the debate.”

Lastly, how was all of what I just said, not me trying to make up absolutes for all of you to follow? Hey, these are just the things I’m taking as my own. I think they’re pretty cool and think you could benefit from some of them too! Are they the “right, absolute” view? Who am I to say? You can take ‘em or leave ‘em. I don’t think you’re sinning by not believing like I do. God only knows what is truth. Its up to him to figure that one out, and I’m quite happy to leave that one there. My prayer and hope is that I am merely thinking God’s thoughts long after him in a way that is also pleasing to him.

Shalom. Peace to you.

First set of thoughts regarding Crazy Love’s first chapter. Still pretty preliminary, but comment away as you like. Love to hear your thoughts! Working on putting together an actual study guide as well. This is not that; its a good bit more concise with more questions for thought. But here ya go! Also… you should definitely read the book.

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Prayer needs to start with an adequate awe and fear of God. This awesomeness should inspire us to worship with all that we are.

A society of distractions has led us (perhaps intentionally?) away from recognizing how incredible God is. It has also cheapened our relationships across the board, with God and others. We have become careless with our words, speaking without thinking, speaking only to make noise. We are scared of silence.

This has done two major things to us as human beings:

1. It has caused us to forget the greatness of God. So many flashing, shiny things to look at all around us (mostly in the way of entertainment) that we forget how cheap they are in comparison with how absolutely awesome God is. CS Lewis said:

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too more weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

2. This has caused us to forget to worship him and in fact to love him (I think worship is a huge piece of how we express our love?) This then requires us, as Christians to remind ourselves constantly of who God is.

And yet… We will never be able to understand or know all that He is.

God has gone over and beyond what was “necessary“ in creating the world as a suitable place for us to live. Why?

Romans 1: “…his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made, so that they are without excuse.”

speaks of the witness he has left himself within the world thru creation (in fact IN the act if creation itself). I love the Psalms for this, as you cannot go much more than two Psalms without hearing the praises of God sung due to his power, often times, in creation.

Psalm 33: “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”

Psalm 29: “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

Psalm 19: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes through all the earth, and their words to the end of the earth.” (the rest of this psalm is excellent, transitioning into how God’s creation of the law is also wonderful in its design, wrapping up in: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.)

It makes me wonder, too, if all the rest of creation pours forth this speech, why I do not also.

And because God is all-powerful, He can rightfully do what pleases Him. We forget too often that God can do what he likes, to please himself and we are still not justified in asking why he didn’t please us. Daniel 4:35 is excellent!

The closer we get to God’s holiness, the more aware of our sin we should become.